Saturday, January 3, 2026 | 1 p.m. ET | TD Place
WATCH LIVE: Sportsnet ONE, FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International), More
Matt Cullen (Play-by-Play), Blake Bolden (Analyst), Julia Tocheri (Reporter)
MINNESOTA FROST
4-1-1-2 | 15 PTS | 2ND PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorer: Britta Curl-Salemme – 8 GP, 3-7-10 PTS
Last Game: 5-1 W at TOR on Dec. 30
OTTAWA CHARGE
1-3-0-5 | 9 PTS | 7TH PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorer: Brianne Jenner – 9 GP, 3-5-8 PTS
Last Game: 3-2 SOW vs. BOS on Dec. 27
2025-26 SEASON SERIES: MINNESOTA LEADS 4-2 IN POINTS (MIN LEADS 23-16 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Dec. 2 at OTT: 5-1 MIN | Dec. 21 at MIN (CHICAGO): 3-2 OTT (OT) | Jan. 3 at OTT | Mar. 18 at MIN
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ottawa scored a 3-2 overtime win over Minnesota when the teams met in Chicago in December. Including last season’s playoffs, five of the last six meetings between the Frost and Charge have gone to overtime.
Minnesota’s 5-1 win at Toronto on Tuesday was the team’s seventh all-time victory by at least four goals. That is the most such wins by any team in PWHL history. It was also the Frost’s third time scoring five goals in a game, more than all other PWHL teams combined (Ottawa and New York, one each).
Taylor Heise delivered three assists in Tuesday’s win, the fifth time a Minnesota player has had three or more in a single game (including playoffs). Heise is the only Frost player to do so in two different games (also Game 3 of last season’s semifinals).
Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper have both delivered at least one assist in each of Minnesota’s last four games. The longest regular-season assist streak in PWHL history is five games (done six times).
Britta Curl-Salemme became the first PWHL player to 10 points this season, producing at a greater rate than each of the league’s previous scoring leaders (Natalie Spooner, 5 PTS in first 8 GP 2024; Hilary Knight, 7 PTS & Sarah Fillier, 9 PTS in first 8 GP 2024-25). Her four-game point-streak is a career-high.
Kendall Coyne Schofield leads the PWHL with seven goals, including a hat trick against Ottawa at TD Place Dec. 2. The Frost captain ranks third in all-time goals with 25 and is one point shy of 50 for her career and could become the third player in PWHL history to reach the milestone.
Kelly Pannek leads the head-to-head season series with four points, having recorded two assists in each of the first two games between Minnesota and Ottawa in 2025-26.
The Frost have six players named to Team USA for the 2026 Olympics, more than any other PWHL team. Coyne Schofield, Curl-Salemme, Heise, Pannek, Lee Stecklein and Grace Zumwinkle will join Ottawa’s Rory Guilday and Gwyneth Philips in Milano Cortina in February. Charge goalie Sanni Ahola and defender Ronja Savolainen will represent Finland.
Ottawa has won each of its last three games with all three games coming in overtime or a shootout. Prior to the Charge’s current streak, the team had never even had two straight wins when both needed overtime. The last time Ottawa won four straight games was Mar. 20 to Apr. 24, 2024.
The Charge lead the PWHL with six power play goals and an overall efficiency of 24% with the player advantage. The team’s PP capitalized twice against the Frost on Dec. 21 in Chicago, the first of two consecutive games with a pair of PPGs. Minnesota ranks last on the PK at 72.2%.
Gabbie Hughes tallied two assists against Boston for her second game this season with multiple assists (also vs. Vancouver Nov. 26). Prior to this season, she had one career PWHL game with multiple assists (Mar. 22, 2025 at New York).
Hughes and Rebecca Leslie are both Mental Health Awareness advocates, which is today’s theme. In last season’s game on Feb. 13, also against Minnesota, Hughes scored two goals, including a shorthanded ‘jailbreak’ goal, and an assist and Leslie picked up her first two points of the season. The 8-3 final is the highest scoring game in PWHL history.
Philips is expected to face the Frost for the third time of the 2025-26 season. She leads all PWHL goalkeepers in shots against (273), saves (254), shootout saves (6) and penalty minutes (2). Her 41 saves against Minnesota on Dec. 21 in Chicago was the highest of the PWHL season until New York’s Kayle Osborne made 42 saves on Friday against Montréal.
Alexa Vasko leads the Charge in faceoff percentage with a 61.7% success rate (50 wins in 81 draws) centering the team’s fourth line. Captain Brianne Jenner (60.8%) is the only other center above 50% among Charge players who have taken at least 10 faceoffs. The Frost have three such players (Pannek 61.2%, Dominique Petrie 55.4%, Heise 52.7%).
Carla MacLeod will head home to Alberta following the game for a second round of breast cancer treatment. Her first round of treatment coincided with Ottawa’s first game against Minnesota at home on Dec. 2.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We’re looking forward to another matchup against the Charge, especially since the last game against them in Chicago didn’t end the way we wanted to. We want to continue building our foundation game after game and focus on the little things that make us successful. This game will be a strong opportunity for us to continue building momentum from our last game against Toronto and the road trip.” – Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle
“The Frost is a hard team to play against. They skate a lot. They move the puck well. If we stick to our own job and play woman to woman and close to each other by closing the gaps, I think our defensive zone coverage will be better. We must be first on loose pucks. We also need to play a more physical game. We’ve been letting our opponents come to the net way too easily. We are making the games tough on Gwyneth (Philips). We need to cut the number of rebounds around our net.” – Ottawa defender Ronja Savolainen.
SATURDAY’S GAME: Ottawa hosts Minnesota at TD Place for the second and final time of the 2025-26 regular season, a contest that marks the first game for both teams in the New Year, and the Charge’s annual Mental Health Awareness game. With Gabbie Hughes leading the Sophie’s Squad (SS) Foundation and Rebecca Leslie heavily involved with the Do It For Daron (DIFD) Foundation, the two mental health organizations will be well represented with information, merchandise booths, plus sticker and wristband giveaways outside of section 17 (SS) and section 25 (DIFD). Mental health awareness video content featuring Hughes and Leslie will play throughout the game, and the parents of both players will also be in attendance to support. Gabbie’s father, Terry Hughes, from Lino Lakes, MN, is the president of Sophie’s Squad and was instrumental in its development. He will be recognized as today’s Warrior Fan of the Game. Fans can also meet Ottawa Therapy Dogs in the Lansdowne lounge as soon as the doors open at noon until the end of the second intermission. The Canadian Tire poster station will be behind section 25. Allegra Nocita will sing the National Anthems. With the Rideau Canal now open for outdoor skating, fans can make their way to TD Place on blades and store their skates for free at guest services. Another large crowd is expected this afternoon following the team’s first sell-out of the season (8,497 fans) on Dec. 27.